More Than 100 Dead In Iraq Attacks
Bombers Target Police, Shiite Pilgrims; 5 U.S. Troops Also Killed
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Play CBS Video Video Shrine Suicide Attack Kills 49 CBS News RAW: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in Karbala, Iraq, killing 49 people and injuring scores of worshippers and pedestrians.
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Video Attacks Claim 50 Lives In Iraq A string of violent attacks rocked Iraq, where the deadliest attack took place at a funeral north of Baghdad. In total, more than 50 people were killed, reports Claudia Coffey.
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Video Funeral Bombed In Iraq CBS News RAW: A suicide bomber killed at least 32 mourners and injured dozens at a funeral for the nephew of a Shiite politician in Muqdadiyah, a town north of Baghdad.
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Aftermath of attack near Shiite shrine in Karbala, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2006, video still. (AP /APTN)
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Iraqi soldiers step up security checks at a roadblock, Wednesday, Jan 4, 2006, in Baghdad. Roadblocks went up across Baghdad as police searched for the sister of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, who was kidnapped Tuesday. (AP)
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Iraqi police retrieve personal articles from victims of a roadside bomb, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, in Kirkuk, Iraq. (AP)
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Iraqi soldiers secure the area as others inspect the scene of a car bomb that detonated in the Kazemiya district of Baghdad close to the civil affairs offices January 4, 2006. (Getty Images/Ali Al-Saadi)
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Child with face stained with blood seen after attack near Shiite shrine in Karbala, Iraq, Jan. 5, 2006, video still. (AP /APTN)
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
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Interactive Attacks Map Details on the insurgency and terrorism that has continued to take lives since the fall of Saddam.
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Interactive To The Polls Iraqis vote for their first permanent, democratically-elected government. Find out what's at stake.
The two-day death toll from insurgent attacks rose to 163, a surge of violence not seen since before the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections. Attackers killed 53 people on Wednesday.
A statement from the U.S. military said only that the soldiers were patrolling in the Baghdad area, while Iraqi police Capt. Rahim Slaho said a U.S. convoy headed for the Shiite holy city of Karbala had been attacked 15 miles south of the city and that five soldiers were killed. No names were released.
The suicide blast Thursday near the Imam Hussein shrine in central Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, killed 49 people and injured 52, Karbala police Col. Razaq al-Taie.
In the attack's aftermath, a woman and an infant girl in a bright red jumpsuit lay in a pool of blood, their faces covered by a sheet. Television images showed men ferrying the wounded in pushcarts. The bomber appeared to have set off the explosion only about 30 yards from the shrine in a busy pedestrian area surrounded by shops.
In Ramadi, a U.S. spokesman said about 30 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a line of about 1,000 police recruits. Iraqi police said about 40 people were injured.
The attack took place at a police screening center in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad. Marine Capt. Jeffrey S. Pool said recruits later got back in line to continue the screening process.
In other developments:
The Karbala bomber detonated a vest with about 17.5 pounds of explosives and several hand grenades, al-Taie said. Small steel balls that had been packed into the suicide vest were found at the site, as was one unexploded grenade, he said.
Many pilgrims travel to Karbala on Thursdays to be at the holy site for Friday prayers. One pilgrim, Mohammed Saheb, said he travels to Karbala every Thursday.
"I never thought that such a crime could happen near this holy site," said Saheb, who sustained a head injury. "The terrorists spare no place from their ugly deeds. This is a criminal act against faithful pilgrims. The terrorists are targeting the Shiites."
Speaking from a hospital bed where he was being treated for burns and bruises, Akram Saleh, a vendor, said he lost consciousness after the explosion.
"I was selling toys near the shrine when I flew into the air because of the explosion," he said.
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